TFT: Hire the Right Talent and Keep Them
For the next couple of posts, I’m going to start a short series of TFT posts. The first subject I want to touch on is hiring, including acquiring talent and retaining it. Future posts will touch on succession planning and team meetings, both group and one-on-one. First, we’re going to look at talent acquisition. After all, you have to grow a team by adding great people before you can be a great company. Small companies often struggle with talent acquisition as they do not have the same level of resources as larger corporations. They also have different benefits packages compared to large corporations. How do you compete in today’s market when it comes to acquiring and retaining great talent? Put time into the process and stay committed to your values as a team. Good hires may take more time, but they will be worth it over the long term.
Getting the Right People on the Bus
I forget who used the bus analogy, I believe it was Jim Collins in *Good to Great*, but anyway it is a great analogy. You want to make sure that you have all the right people on the bus to ensure that you can continue down the road to success. How do you get the right people on the bus? Well, first and foremost, put time into the process. Make sure that you know your values as a company. Finding individuals with those same values will ensure that they make the team better and continue to lead to more success down the road. I had a former co-worker who used to look for individuals that raised the average of the team when added. Now, this can be hard to determine with just one interview, so there are a couple of different options to help with that.
Have more than one interview. Set up a series of interviews with the candidate. This will take more time, but it will allow you and the rest of the team to ask several questions and to revisit answers from the candidate over a longer period of time. Ensuring that you get to the heart of what the candidate has done and what they can add to the team.
Another consideration would be pre-assessments for personality and team fit. Thing of things like:
Strength Finder
DiSC
Meyers-Briggs
Kolbe
Panel interviews. If you are really pressed for time and truly believe that you cannot afford the time for multiple interviews, set aside time for a panel of team members to interview the candidate. This will give multiple people the ability to ask questions and evaluate the answers all at once. Keep in mind this could make some candidates nervous, so make sure they are aware of the panel ahead of time unless you really want to test them on their toes.
These are some great ways to make sure that you find the right candidates as you go through the interview process. Another great way is referrals. Although you have a small team, they likely know other high performers with similar values or know someone who does. So, ask internally for referrals and make sure you at least interview the referrals. You would be surprised at how many great candidates can come from within.
Retention
Now you have a great team, how do you keep them? There is a really great short answer here: care about people and know that some will still leave. You are going to hire great people and you are going to pour into them. Some will stay with the company and some will leave the company, and both are okay. Some people are just meant to leave your company after a period of time. Some people will outgrow your company. That is okay. The key will be how do you support them on their journey with your company and beyond. What are key ways to keep someone beyond just money? Yes, we all want money and more money is always better, but as a small business, there are things you can support that will be even better than money and unlimited PTO. What benefits should you consider?
Daycare or bringing kids into the office. Can you offer daycare services for working parents? If not a formal daycare setup, could they bring their kids into the office if they have to come in? Can you support them working remote or hybrid? Work location flexibility can be a huge benefit for new parents and it’s something that you can take on a case-by-case basis.
Profit sharing. Yes, it is your company, but what are you going to be doing with your profits? Sure, some need to go back into the business for growth and R&D. Some need to be paid out to yourself and any partners, but why not include your team in these payouts? After all, they helped bring in the profits. These could be annual payouts, quarterly, or monthly. One thing I would strongly suggest is to make sure that everyone understands these are because the company did well. Make sure to tie it to their specific contribution as much as possible.
Unlimited PTO. While I mentioned this earlier as something you see big companies throw out there, it is something that would be pretty easy for you to offer. The biggest caveat here is that you do need to get work done and it’s a small team. But you also want your team rested and energized, so make sure they take time off to rest and rejuvenate. Also, ensure that they have all the time they need for any illnesses or family emergencies. After all, we’re building a great team here that wants to support each other.
Development opportunities. Being a smaller company, you probably have fewer hard lines on each role. As your company grows, you are going to need more support in new areas. Who on your team wants to grow in that area? There are people on the team interested in marketing or sales or design. Ask them to take the first crack. Can you get them connected with a mentor who could coach them through it? Could you help support training or a conference for them to attend and learn at? They could become the next marketing or sales leader within your company, or they could try it and decide that they hate it. At least you heard their desire and gave them a shot.
These are by no means the only options you have out there. I would love to hear any ideas you have tried in your business. Share them in the comments below.
Hiring is the key to the growth and success of your small business. Find great people and get them on the bus. This will take time. Then find the right role for them based on their skills and desires. Support them in life and help them grow personally and professionally. At the end of the day, remember that some will grow with your company and some will grow beyond your company.
What successes or failures have you had adding people to your team?
Recommended Reading
The Importance of Talent Acquisition and Retention for Small Businesses